Activist Jonathan Soros met with Gov. Cuomo in final hours of budget talks

Gov. Cuomo met with Jonathan Soros during final hours of state budget talks

Lefty election reform activist Jonathan Soros had a private meeting with Gov. Cuomo just as state budget negotiations – and efforts to include public financing of elections - were nearing the finish line.

Soros, the son of billionaire George Soros, met with Cuomo at 4:15 p.m. on Friday, March 28 in the governor’s conference room in Albany, according to schedules made public Wednesday. At the time of the meeting, budget talks were hung up on just a few key issues, including public financing of elections.

Although Soros had advocated for widespread public financing of campaigns, Cuomo and lawmakers could only agree on a budget that included only a pilot public financing program involving only state Controller Thomas DiNapoli.

Cuomo announced the budget agreement on a conference call with reporters the morning after his meeting with Soros.

The schedules released by the Cuomo administration also show that Cuomo met with election reform advocates Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters and NYPIRG’s Blair Horner and Bill Mahoney as lawmakers were voting to adopt the budget on March 31.

Other March schedule highlights include a meeting on March 14th with lobbyist George DeRosa – father of Cuomo’s Communications Director Melissa DeRosa – and Don Rowe, president of the state corrections officers union. A day later, Cuomo met with the union’s entire board.